RECIPE: Vegan Vol-au-Vent / biscuits and gravy

VeganMoFo9
Most retro recipe

Until today I didn’t know what my ‘most retro recipe’ would be… And just now I realized that I have the perfect recipe for the Vegan MoFo theme of today… VOL-AU-VENT! I think it’s the easiest to translate it as biscuits and gravy, but here in Belgium we call it Vol-au-Vent, Vidé or Koninginnehapje (queen’s appetizer). I made a vegan recipe for this delicious dish about a year ago, to appear in the second edition of our vegan magazine, De Groene Keuken. We even put it in the preview, ’cause I’m so proud of it (and think it’s incredibly delicious). The funny thing is that I really hated the dish when I was a kid, but now I love it! The combinatie of the creamy filling and the puff pastry cookie is so yum!

Vol-au-vent might be one of the most retro recipes here in Belgium. Everyone knows it, it’s on the menu in almost every restaurant and you can find it in your grandparents cookbooks. Of course I made a vegan version that’s not only more delicious, but also way healthier.

Vol-au-vent
2 p

1 package of plant-based puff pastry  (preferably without palm oil)
plant-based milk

plant-based butter
1 onion, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
250 gr mushrooms, in small slices
200 gr vegan chick’n, seitan, tofu, …
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
if desired, 1 à 3 tbsp cognac*
250 ml plant-based cream
50 ml vegetable stock
1 tsp lemon juice
pepper

fresh parsley
potato croquettes**

Braise the onion in some vegan butter on low heat. Add the garlic, herbs and mushrooms and let it simmer.
If you prefer to bake your chick’npieces or seitan first, add them to the mushrooms.

Add the cognac, cream, stock and lemon juice to the mushrooms. Let it thicken on low heat for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the  oven on 120°C. Take 2 serving rings / food molds of a different size. Cut out 6 circles with the largest mold. Take two of these circles and cut out 2 small rounds with the smaller mold. Don’t throw away the big, hollow circles. Put two of the large circles on top of each other and repeat this. Top these with a large hollow circle. Keep the small circle as a hat for your puff pastry biscuit. Place them on baking paper on an oven dish. Put them in the oven for 15 minutes.

Take the puff pastry biscuits and pour in the filling. Finish with some fresh parsley or thyme and the puff pastry hat. Serve with potato croquettes and a green salad.

* For a list of vegan cognac, you can check Barnivore.
** Be careful when buying potato croquettes, they often contain eggs. Be sure to check the ingredients!

Enjoy your meal!